April 13 I 8:00 PM I Woolsey Hall William Boughton
Interim Conductor
T
onight’s concert honors not only the graduating seniors from the Yale Symphony Orchestra, but also a beloved member of the Yale Department of Music faculty: James Hepokoski, the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music, and the Chair of the Department for the past six years. Professor Hepokoski is retiring at the end of this semester, and he will return to his native Minnesota. Professor Hepokoski received his M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology from Harvard University (1972-79), and he has taught at the Oberlin College Conservatory (1978-1988), the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (1988-1999), and the Yale Department of Music since 1999. His core historical surveys for the music major, covering Western Art Music from 1600 to 1950, are as sagacious and legendary as the Kalevala. Generations of students have benefited from his love of the music, his deep and broad knowledge, and the clarity and rhetorical force of his lectures. Each year he composed his lectures anew, mined recent scholarship, added new musical examples, and integrated evolving media technologies. In recognition of the excellence of his teaching, Yale presented him in 2010 with the Sidonie Miskimin Klauss Prize for teaching excellence in the humanities. As a music historian and theorist, he has ranged across a stunning breadth of interests. He began as a scholar of Italian opera, with books on Verdi’s Otello and Falstaff, as well as essays on various aspects of this operatic tradition, from earlier in the nineteenth century to the operas of Puccini. During his years at Oberlin and Minnesota he was developing an original theory of sonata form— the form in which much of the instrumental music of the German tradition, in the decades around 1800, was conceived. His deep immersion in this repertoire resulted in the magisterial Elements of Sonata Theory, which he and co-author Warren Darcy, a colleague from his Oberlin years, published in 2006. This award-winning book is now the standard source on the genre, and it has had an extraordinary impact on the fields of historical musicology and music theory, as evidenced by the numerous conferences, colloquia, and workshops all over the world that he has been invited to lead in recent years. He has also produced influential work on program music in the nineteenth century, on the orchestral music of Richard Strauss and Edward Elgar, and on 20th-century American musical culture, including musical theater and vernacular repertories. Here he is mining Yale’s archives, returning to the expertise that produced the body of work that resulted in his appointment to the Yale faculty in the first place. Finally, as a Finn from Duluth, Professor Hepokoski has always maintained an abiding passion for the music of Sibelius. His essays are the first place that any scholar would send a student who showed an interest in the composer and his work. The Music Department is grateful to the YSO for its collaboration in honoring Professor Hepokoski’s lifelong engagement with this music. With the orchestra we celebrate a distinguished musical scholar, and we offer him our congratulations on his twenty years here, and our thanks for a contribution to music at Yale that will resound for decades to come. —Patrick McCreless, Yale Department of Music
program
Finlandia
Jean Sibelius Henry Shapard, guest conductor
The Oceanides Jean Sibelius
Ian Niederhoffer, guest conductor
Den fรถrsta kyssen Var det en drรถm? Jean Sibelius
Lauren McQuistin, soprano
Intermission
Cyber-Bird Concerto Takashi Yoshimatsu Bird in Colors Bird in Grief Bird in the Wind
Nick DeWalt, saxophone Winner of the 2018 William Waite Concerto Competition Nenad Ifkovic, piano Arlo Shultis, drum kit
Intermission
Symphony No. 6 Jean Sibelius Allegro molto moderato Allegretto moderato Poco vivace Allegro molto
{Please silence all portable electronic devices}
about the artists William Boughton, Interim Conductor Born into a musical family - his grandfather (Rutland Boughton) was a composer, his father a professional viola player and his mother a singer. After studies, at New England Conservatory (Boston), Guildhall School of Music (London) and Prague Academy as a cellist, he entered the profession in London playing with the Royal Philharmonic, BBC and London Sinfonietta Orchestras. The experience of playing in orchestras led to a passion to pursue a career in conducting studying with George Hurst and then Sir Colin Davis. In 1980 he formed the English String Orchestra initially focusing on early 20th Century English repertoire but developing it into late 20th and 21st Century Contemporary music commissioning over 20 works from composers such Peter Sculthorpe, John Joubert, Anthony Powers, Michael Berkeley, John Metcalf, Stephen Roberts and Adrian Williams. The depth of his partnership with the ESO was epitomised in 1985 when, as Artistic Director of the Malvern Festival, he collaborated with Sir Michael Tippett to present a musical celebration of the composer’s eightieth birthday which was the subject of a BBC “Omnibus” documentary. With the ESO he built a significant discography of internationally acclaimed recordings with Nimbus Records - predominantly of English music, a number of which reached the Top Ten in the US Billboard charts. Between 1986–93 he was also Artistic & Music Director of the Jyvaskyla Sinfonia in Finland and guest conducted with numerous orchestras including the London Symphony, Philharmonia, San Francisco, Royal Philharmonic, Finnish Radio, Mittel Deutsch Radio, working with artists such as Nigel Kennedy, Leonidas Kavakos, Emmanuel Ax, Radu Lupu and Viktoria Mullova. In October 1993, William Boughton was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University in recognition of his expertise in British music. In November 1995, he and the ESO presented a weekend of music celebrating the 60th birthday of English composer Nicholas Maw, marking another milestone in his championship of contemporary English music. In
1996 William Boughton commenced a second term as Artistic Director of the Malvern Festival. The 2005/6 Season was his final year with the ESO in which they celebrated the Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary performing a ‘Complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle’, and created a new series of pre-concert performances of British contemporary music, including works by Birtwistle, Knussen. Watkins, Woolrich, Holloway and Turnage. In July 2007 he became the 10th Music Director of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO), with whom he instituted a ‘Composer in Residence’ Scheme (Augusta Read Thomas, Christopher Theofanidis, Hannah Lash) and started a major Walton Project with concerts, lectures/talks and recordings on the Nimbus Label. With the NHSO he has received two ASCAP Awards (2011 & 2014) for Adventurous Programming and received critical acclaim for the Walton Project, with Gramophones Edward Greenfield nominating it for ‘Record of the Year’ (2010). In October 2014 two new recordings were released with the New Haven Symphony of William Walton and Augusta Read Thomas. His commitment and dedication to the younger generation is epitomized through his teaching – creating a cello studio in one of the poorest areas of New Haven, building the NHSO’s Education Dept, working with the State and Regional Youth Orchestras and teaching at the Yale School of Music. In May 2016 he visited Central China University for Conducting Masterclasses and conducted the Hubei Symphony. He regularly records for both Nimbus and Lyrita Labels and guest conducts in the USA.
Nick DeWalt, Saxophone A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Nick DeWalt is a sophomore at Yale University where he studies Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B). Before Yale, Nick studied saxophone with Dr. Scott Campbell while attending Fossil Ridge High School. Nick was also the Drum Major for the marching band and a member of the Texas All-State Band in 2015 and 2017. Additionally, he was a member of the Metro Praise Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra (GDYO) Wind Symphony. In 2017, Nick won the GDYO Concerto Competition and performed John Mackey’s “Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Wind Ensemble” with the GDYO Wind Symphony. He was also selected to perform Claude T. Smith’s “Fanta-
sia for Alto Saxophone” with his high school wind ensemble. At Yale, Nick studies with Professor Carrie Koffman through the Yale School of Music. He has also taken lessons from saxophonists including Dr. Stephen Page, Professor Taimur Sullivan, and Dr. Eric Nestler. Professor Koffman coaches the Yale Saxophone Quartet, where Nick holds the soprano saxophone chair. Nick also performs as the principal saxophonist of the Yale Concert Band under the direction of Professor Thomas Duffy. Nick has had opportunities to perform with both the Yale Symphony Orchestra and the Yale Philharmonia. In the spring of 2018, his first year at Yale, Nick was Photo by Jacob Hillman named a winner of the William Waite Concerto Competition. In addition, Nick was invited to perform at the memorial of former Yale MB&B Professor Thomas Steitz in January of 2019, where he performed Eugène Bozza’s “Aria for Alto Saxophone and Piano.” Despite receiving offers to study saxophone performance at the Eastman School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music, Nick came to Yale to pursue a degree in the sciences. As a research assistant in the John B. Pierce Laboratory, Nick has studied gutbrain neurophysiology under Dr. Guillaume de Lartigue. His most recent project focused on developing new techniques to selectively target vagal motor neurons. This summer, Nick will be serving as a YSS Residential Counselor and working as a research assistant in Dr. Junjie Guo’s lab, studying the RNA biology of neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, Nick is a member of Community Health Educators on campus. After graduating from Yale, Nick plans to attend medical school.
Lauren McQuisten, Soprano Scottish soprano, Lauren McQuistin, completed her undergraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before moving to America to pursue a Masters of Music under the tutelage of Carol Vaness. In Scotland she featured as a soloist with BBC Choir of the Year Les Sirenes, as well as performing as Donna Anna in scenes performances. A keen interpreter of Russian music, McQuistin made her Scottish Opera debut as Marfa in Shosta-
kovich’s Rotschild’s Violin, as well as competing in and winning the Art Song class in the Sergei Leiferkus Competition for Voice in Moscow. Since moving to America she has performed as Alice Ford and Adriana Lecouvreur in Vaness’ Opera workshop, and she made her IU principal debut in 2016 as the title role of Florencia in the Jacob’s School of Music production of Florencia en el Amazonas. She was awarded district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in St Louis and Nashville. Other roles have included The Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with Bloomingvoce in Bloomington, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with The Center for Opera Studies in Italy. At the Yale School of Music she has performed as title role of Lucrezia Borgia and the Prima Donna in Ariadne Auf Naxos in their scenes production, as well as First Lady in The Magic Flute, a role she covered with Central City Opera, where she a studio artist. This year with Yale School of Music she performed Tatyana in Eugene Onegin in the Spring production at the Shubert Theatre.
Henry Shapard, Guest Conductor Henry Shapard, 20, serves as Principal Cello and Assistant Conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and studies with Ole Akahoshi. This past summer, he was a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center, working with Boston Symphony Music Director Andris Nelsons and Herbert Blomstedt, among other notable conductors. In the summer of 2017, he was a member of the SchleswigHolstein Festival Orchestra in Germany. He has also served as the Principal Cello of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America under Christoph Eschenbach, Charles Dutoit, and Valery Gergiev. As a concerto soloist, he has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, among others. His solo and chamber music performances have been
featured on BBC Radio 3 and on WCLV 104.9, Cleveland’s classical music station. He has performed on three continents, including in the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and twice at Carnegie Hall. He returns to Carnegie Hall in February 2019 for a collaborative performance between the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and selected alumni of NYOUSA led by Daniel Harding.
Ian Niederhoffer, Guest Conductor Ian Niederhoffer was born in New York City and is a music major at Yale University. He is Associate Conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Founder and Music Director of the Yale Undergraduate Chamber Orchestra, Photo by Rebecca Fay and Music Director of the Opera Theater of Yale College. He made his U.S. professional debut with the Vermont Mozart Festival in 2017 and was invited back for their 2018 season. He made his European debut conducting the Bacau Philharmonic in 2016. In February 2018, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with the SalomĂŠ Chamber Orchestra. He has formerly held the positions of Assistant Conductor of the Berkeley College Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the InterSchool Orchestras of New York and Apprentice Conductor of the New York Youth Symphony. As an instrumentalist, Ian began his violin studies at the age of three, switching to viola at thirteen. He began studying piano at the age of five. He is Assistant Principal Viola of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and has recently performed in concert series including Summer Music from Greensboro and Burlington Evenings with Mozart. In May 2015, he performed a solo recital in Merkin Concert Hall. Drawn to conducting at an early age, Ian began his conducting studies with Jeffrey Grogan at the age of 15. He continued his studies with Joshua Gersen, current Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic while studying score reading with Edith Kraft, a former Juilliard professor. He currently studies with William Boughton, Interim Conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and has recently studied with Markand Thakar, Ovidiu Balan, and Robert Gutter.
notes on the program Finlandia Jean Sibelius For generations of Finnish people, Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia represents the struggle of a nation desperate to break free of the Russian yoke. Indeed, the work, which Sibelius composed in 1899, when Finland still belonged to the Russian Empire, is of tremendous importance to the country of Finland, and, some scholars contend, fueled the movement for Finnish independence. The work itself has several distinct and identifiable characters. The opening brass chorale is a dark, sudden introduction, followed by brooding strings. The sense of deep anguish communicated in the opening moments of the piece is not resolved, and the rousing, march-like tune that follows continues to communicate a sense of urgency. The most recognizable moment, however, of Finlandia—and the one that still has the power to bring tears to the eyes of many Finns every Independence Day—comes later, when Sibelius quickly reduces the original texture and an original hymn tune wafts over gentle strings. Forty years after Finlandia was composed, a prominent Finnish poet, Veikko Antero Koskenniemi, wrote words to Sibelius’ melody; most Finns know them by heart. Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning, the threat of night has now been driven away. The skylark calls across the light of morning, The blue of heaven lets it have its sound, and now the day the powers of night is scorning: thy daylight dawns, O Finland of ours! Finland, arise, and raise towards the highest thy head now crowned with mighty memory. Finland, arise, for to the world thou criest that thou hast thrown off thy slavery, beneath oppression’s yoke thou never liest. Thy morning’s come, O Finland of ours! Sibelius lived long enough to experience much of the effect that Finlandia had on his compatriots. Long after his death in 1957, the piece continues to give voice to the struggle against oppression not just in Finland but all around the world. Henry Shapard ’20
The Oceanides Jean Sibelius Sibelius’ established reputation as one of the great composers of the first part of the twentieth century has tended to go along with a limited appreciation of the extent and variety of his output. The handful of opus numbers that include the sequence of seven great symphonies, a single violin concerto and string quartet and a handful of dramatic and imposing tone poems (two of them, The Bard and Luonnatar, written close in time to The Oceanides), are only a fraction of the music that he wrote for all occasions — incidental music for plays and pageants (Finlandia is one of these, Valse Triste another), pieces for public occasions, solo songs and choral pieces and, surprisingly for one who professed a lack of interest in the instrument, many sets of piano pieces, mainly miniatures and character sketches. Some of these, such as the early Romance in D flat, were once very famous. These works track the development of Sibelius’ style in parallel with his major works, and bring out its versatility. The bleak image of such pieces as the Fourth Symphony and Tapiola, and statements of monumental eloquence like the Fifth and Seventh Symphonies are paradoxically enlarged by Sibelius’ capacity, seen in his less ambitious works, to affect styles ranging from the Oriental to the Spanish, from the lyrical to the mystic to the playful; and the popular image of the forbidding, austere personality expressed in those familiar photographic portraits taken late in his life, is belied by the courtly affability of his social conduct. Alert to every occasion, Sibelius was capable of remarking how the grandeur of Niagara Falls lay far beyond the possibility of expression in music, and of observing what a fine place for a concert would be the central concourse of Grand Central Station, given an orchestra of two hundred players! The great tone-poet of nature was always the man about town. The sociable aspect of Sibelius’ personality is well illustrated in the famous visit that the composer paid the United States in the summer of 1914, during which he had occasion to admire Niagara Fall and Grand Central Station. The Oceanides has strong connections with Connecticut, and with Yale. It was commissioned in August 1913 by Carl Stoeckel, the son of an immigrant from Bohemia (and Yale’s first professor of music), who had become personal assistant to the wealthy businessman Robbins Battell, and married Battell’s daughter. Apart from their Yale connections, Stoeckel and his wife owned a mansion in Norfolk, Connecticut, from where he organised the Norfolk Summer Festival that is still part of the Yale musical scene. The Oceanides was commissioned for the Norfolk Festival of 1914, and Sibelius was invited to conduct its first performance. The fee for the composition would be $1,000, in addition to which, Sibelius was to conduct a series of concerts of his own music for a further $1,200. Sibelius was
not exactly a cautious manager of his household affairs, and the financial recompense for his 1914 visit was very welcome to him. The image of Sibelius as the rapt giant of Finnish music who worked in isolation from the European scene has often been rather over-drawn (who would guess that the Second Symphony was written in Italy?), and at the beginning of 1914, while planning the new work, Sibelius visited Berlin, where he attended many concerts and recitals, and heard much new music. He was quick (and pretty accurate) in dismissing second-rate efforts, but expressed admiration for a remarkable number of composers whose music he had heard — Mahler and Richard Strauss (whose Elektra impressed him very greatly), Busoni and Dohnanyi; most intriguingly, the early Schoenberg, who fascinated him though he was not sure where this would lead, and Korngold, later a writer of Hollywood film scores, whose more formal output perhaps merits a revival. Sibelius had to put up with two bad reviews of performances of his Violin Concerto of ten years earlier, and he heard a piano recital including Debussy’s L’Isle Joyeuse — a work based, like much impressionistic music, not so much on nature as on an artistic presentation of it, in this case a painting by Watteau. Sibelius had met Debussy in London six years before and had even heard him conduct (not very well, it seems) a concert of his own music. The Oceanides is sometimes described as the most impressionist of Sibelius’ works. Yet, as the example of the Fifth Symphony shows most clearly, Sibelius re-worked his major scores intensively, and the result was that any influences from other composers were thoroughly “written into” his own style of composition. The Oceanides was first conceived as a tone-poem in three movements, with the working title Rondo der Wellen (“Rondo of the Waves”). The title was however soon changed to The Oceanides, and the draft score sent to Carl Stoeckel by Sibelius in April 1914 was in one movement. By the time Sibelius arrived in the United States in June the piece had been further re-worked – with a considerate change of key to D major, from the D flat rather uncommonly required of symphony orchestras. Carl Stoeckel presented the draft one-movement version to Yale University Library, where it still is; the two surviving movements of the three-movement draft are in Helsinki. The rehearsals and first performance of the work were held in the Music Shed at Norfolk, still used for performances in the Norfolk Festival. The orchestra was drawn from the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony with other players, and the performance was a great success. After initial uncertainties, the orchestra took to the work, and the audience and critics loved it. Unlike, for example, Pohjola’s Daughter, the “symphonic fantasia” with which Sibelius began the concert of June 4th, the work is a tone-portrait with no narrative program. In Classical mythology the Oceanides are water-nymphs, the
daughters of the primeval Ocean, son of Uranus and Gaia (Heaven and Earth), and Sibelius’ music invokes sky as well as sea; no more than in Tapiola could anyone mistake the great storm which Sibelius makes the climax of his piece. The Oceanides is a difficult piece to analyse, but this would not help the listener very much in any case. It might be more useful to think of the music as conveying, and often combining, the different motions of the sea, as the playful Oceanides appear against the backdrop of the slower movements of the ocean and the vast sky above it. An obvious point of reference is Debussy’s La Mer, completed in 1905, but although Sibelius’ music does contain impressionist touches, there is nothing in it that does not come from his own way of composing, and there is not a bar of the piece that anyone else could have written. It shares one characteristic with La Mer, and that is the complete absence of a human dimension. Both are concerned with nature, and with the forces of nature; this is not the muchtravelled sea of Mendelsohnn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, or even Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. After the concert of June 4th, Sibelius visited Yale, to receive an honorary doctorate of music. He received the degree on June 17th in Woolsey Hall, in the very place where you are reading these notes and hearing this music. The visit to Yale was the culmination of an extraordinary visit. Sibelius was delighted and moved by his reception in the United States, and was genuinely regretful when the time came to leave. He returned to Europe on the liner General Grant. In the course of the voyage home news was received by telegraph of the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo. A year later another great European composer to visit the United States, Granados, lost his life while trying to save his wife on the Lusitania. Prof. John Matthews, written for the Yale Symphony’s first performance of this work in February, 2005
Den första kyssen På silvermolnets kant satt aftonstjärnan, Från lundens skymning frågte henne tärnan: Säg, aftonstjärna, vad i himlen tänkes, När första kyssen åt en älskling skänkes? Och himlens blyga dotter hördes svara: På jorden blickar ljusets änglaskara, Och ser sin egen sällhet speglad åter; Blott döden vänder ögat bort — och gråter.
As the evening star sat on the edge of the silver-lined cloud The maiden asked her from the twilit grove: “Tell me, evening star, what do they think in heaven When a lover receives her first kiss?” And heaven’s bashful daughter replied: “The angels look to earth And see the reflection of their bliss. Only death turns away, and weeps.
Var det en dröm? Var det en dröm, att ljuvt en gång jag var ditt hjärtas vän? Jag minns det som en tystnad sång, då strängen darrar än.
Was it a dream, that once upon a blissful time I was your heart’s friend? I remember it like a silent song Whose melody still lingers on.
Jag minns en törnros av dig skänkt, en blick så blyg och öm; jag minns en avskedstår, som blänkt. Var allt, var allt en dröm?
I remember you gave me a rose With a look so shy and tender, I remember the glistening of a parting tear. Was it all just a dream?
En dröm lik sippans liv så kort uti en vårgrön ängd, vars fägring hastigt vissnar bort för nya blommors mängd.
A dream like a wildflower’s life, So brief in the verdant meadow, Whose beauty quickly withers away Within an ocean of new flowers
Men mången natt jag hör en röst vid bittra tårars ström: göm djupt dess minne i ditt bröst, det var din bästa dröm!
But on many a night I hear a voice Through a stream of bitter tears. Hide this memory deep in your heart For this was your best dream.
Cyber Bird Concerto Takashi Yoshimatsu Although he didn’t receive formal musical training growing up, Takashi Yoshimatsu is one of the most prolific and popular contemporary Japanese composers of his era. Originally from Tokyo, Yoshimatsu’s earliest inspiration to pursue music came when he watched his younger sister practice piano at home. After studying engineering for some time, Yoshimatsu turned to music when he began studying with Teizo Matsamura. Yoshimatsu performed as a keyboardist with many rock and jazz bands—experiences that later influenced his classical writing. Now, his work is described as neoclassical with influences from Japanese classical music. The Concerto, composed in 1994, has been described by Yoshimatsu himself as a triple concerto due to the prominent piano and drum kit parts. In a typical fast-slow-fast structure, it depicts an imaginary bird in the realm of electronic cyberspace. The saxophone, born by the orchestra’s wings, takes flight through a variety of musical styles to ultimately reach its own stratum. In addition, the improvised sections in the first and third movements allow the saxophonist to explore even more sonic territory.
The first movement, Bird in Colors, is a somewhat frenzied allegro in which the bird flies through a variety of colors, with clear influences of jazz and rock. The second movement, Bird in Grief, is an elegy dedicated to Yoshimatsu’s younger sister, who passed away in 1994. It was written during the long nights Yoshimatsu spent at his sister’s bedside as she battled terminal cancer while on life support. Her final words before passing were “I would like to be a bird in my next life.” A soliloquy of sadness is paralleled by bird songs, spinning out into a dream that ultimately reaches acceptance and peace. The third movement, Bird in the Wind, is a fiery presto in which the bird flies into the wind. Characterized by a relentless rhythmic drive and solo melodic lines soaring above the orchestra, this movement represents hope for the future, and perhaps an ascension into the afterlife. A final improvised section before the last phrase encourages the soloist to draw on themes from previous movements and create a sense of closure that builds to the end of the piece. Nick DeWalt ’21
Symphony No. 6 Jean Sibelius “It is rather tranquil in character and outline and reminds me of the scent of the first snow” – Jean Sibelius This Symphony was started at the end of WW1 in 1918 and completed in 1923. Interestingly it is the only symphony that Sibelius did not designate a key – it inhabits the world of the Dorian mode, which makes the listener feel a sense of timelessness, taking them back to Renaissance times and the sounds of vocal motets. Sibelius described the symphony as “being of linear rather than harmonic foundation and does not follow the usual sonata form scheme”. The work also has, for Sibelius, an unusual orchestration with the addition of Bass Clarinet and Harp to the usual classical sized orchestra. From the outset the work sets a tone of tranquility and peacefulness imbued with a naturalness that makes me feel this is Sibelius’ ‘Pastoral Symphony’. In both the first and last movements of this elusive work Sibelius plays with our sense of time – the opening of both movements have slow introductions, but not in the usual classical sense through a change of tempo. He uses half and quarter notes in these pastoral introductory passages creating a sense of tranquility before sending the listener off on their journey through the movement. This calmness is broken through urgent and insistent eighth and sixteenth notes which dance
like the swirling of snowflakes, but mysterious and dark thoughts and undercurrents are never far away from breaking the tranquility. The playing with time re-appears at the beginning of the 2nd movement through a wonderful juxtaposition of Flutes (High) and Bassoons (Low), this movement has three beats in a bar but the phrasing is in in two beats and not until the violins enter is some kind of stability created. The use of scales and a mixture of inner speeds within the beats constantly create a feeling of unrest in this movement combined with the previously mentioned juxtaposition of high and low instruments. The movement ends with a flurry of activity, introducing even faster notes, between woodwinds and strings before ending as if in some courtly dance. The third movement is the Scherzo and utilizes the harp more than a merely accompanying role. The movement is based upon two elements which are both repeated – one lyrical and introduced by the woodwind and the other more staccato (short) and lively, introduced by the flutes. Listen to the independent harp line which sometimes answers and at other times is rhythmically against the orchestra. As previously mentioned the last movement opens with a slow introduction of short phrases in the upper register of the orchestra answered by the lower half in a conversation that ranks amongst the finest that Sibelius ever wrote. There follows a series of variations that culminate in a chorale that ends in one of the most beautifully poetic whispers of resignation. William Boughton
Yale Symphony Orchestra Toshiyuki Shimada, Music Director (On Leave) William Boughton, Interim Conductor Thomas C. Duffy, Interim Director Brian Robinson, Managing Director Ian Niederhoffer, Assistant Conductor Henry Shapard, Assistant Conductor Presidents Laura Michael Spencer Parish Librarians Dennis Zhao, Head Librarian Vivian Mayers Ben Tillinger Publicity Epongue Ekille Mary Martin Eli Mennerick Social Alma Bitran Sonali Durham Jacob Miller Alumni Margo Williams Chie Xu Stage Crew Evan Pasternak, Manager Alma Bitran Eli Mennerick Sam Panner Ryan Zhou Graphic Design Victoria Gebert
First Violin Evan Pasternak ’19, Concertmaster Vivian Mayers ’21 Co-Concertmaster Alex Goldberg ’22, Asst. Concertmaster Alexander Wang ’19, Principal Lauren Bennett, MUS ’19 Albert Cao ’19 Nanki Chugh ’22 Janet Hsu ’22 Hannah Lawrence ’19 Oliver Leitner ’22 Phoebe Liu ’22 Sam Panner ’21
Viola Sarah Switzer ’19, Principal Ian Niederhoffer ’19, Co-Principal Brian Isaacs ’22, Sub-Principal Lili Cerise ’22 Daniel Chabeda ’22 Jisoo Choi ’22 Sonali Durham ’20 Linus Lu ’19 Jacob Miller ’21 Gabrielle Sevillano ’22 Timothy White ’20 Grant Young ’20 Ryan Zhou ’22
Second Violin Serena Shapard ’20, Principal Margo Williams ’20, Co-Principal Formosa Deppman ’22 Epongue Ekille ’21 Ernestina Hsieh ’22 Won Ho Lee ’22 Chaihyun Kim ’20 Emma Mueller ’21 Isaiah Schrader ’21 Jasmine Stone ’20 Stella Vujic ’22 Julia Zhu ’19
Violoncello Henry Shapard ’20, Principal Alma Bitran ’21, Co-Principal Jason Campe ’22 Sofia Checa ’20 Dayle Chung ’21 Anastasia Dalianis ’22 Giacomo Glotzer ’22 Julia Hu ’22 Emery Kerekes ’21
Contrabass Connor Reed ’19, Principal Alice Zhao ’21, Co-Principal Archer Frodyma ’22 Aedan Lombardo ’20 Spencer Parish ’20 Arvind Venkataraman ’19 Flute and Piccolo Beatrice Brown ’19 Co-Principal Monica Barbosa ’19 Co-Principal Benjamin Tillinger ’21 Annie Zhao ’22 Oboe and English Horn Laura Michael ’20 Co-Principal Alec Chai ’22 Co-Principal Olivia Johann ’22 Kaitlin Kan ’22 Clarinet Christopher Zhou ’19, Co-Principal Dennis Zhao ’19 Co-Principal Richard Zhou ’22 Daniel Kim ’22 Bassoon Dennis Brookner ’19, Co-Principal Maddy Tung ’21 Co-Principal Kenny Wang ’20 Brian Kirkman ’21
French Horn Mary Martin ’20, Principal Claire Calkins ’22 Gabriel Mairson MUS ’19 Stephen Newberry MUS ’19 Trumpet Ryan Petersberg GRD ’21 Principal Megan Ahern ’21 Melissa Munoz MUS ’20 Trombone Eli Mennerick ’21 Lyman McBride, MUS ’20 Fernando Trejos Suarez ’22 Tuba Gigi Barrios ’22 Harp Heloise Carlean-Jones, MUS ’20 Margaret Davis Timpani and Percussion Charles Comiter ’20 Arlo Shultis MUS ’20 Kevin Zetina MUS ’20
About the Orchestra Founded in 1965 by a group of students who saw the growing potential for a large ensemble to thrive on campus, the Yale Symphony Orchestra has become one of the premier undergraduate ensembles in the United States. The largest orchestra in Yale College, the YSO provides a means for students to perform orchestral music at a conservatory level while taking advantage of all Yale, as a liberal-arts institution, has to offer. The YSO boasts and impressive number of alumni who have gone on to successful musical careers, but for a conservatory-level musician seeking a strong liberal arts or STEM education, we are one of the few – if not the only – opportunity for a talented orchestra musician to maintain the trajectory of their musical studies in a non-conservatory environment. As a result, most of YSO musicians are non-music majors. That said, the YSO numbers among its alumni members of the New York Philharmonic (Sharon Yamada, 1st violin), the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Haldan Martinson, principal 2nd violin, and Owen Young, cello), the Los Angeles Philharmonic (David Howard, clarinet), the San Francisco Symphony (the late William Bennett, oboe), Philadelphia Orchestra (Jonathan Beiler, violin), Toronto Symphony (Harry Sargous, oboe, ret.) and the Israel Philharmonic (Miriam Hartman, viola), as well as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, National Public Radio commentator Miles Hoffman, composers, Michael Gore, Robert Beaser, Conrad Cummings, Stephen Paul Hartke, Robert Kyr, and more. Although the YSO is an extracurricular ensemble within a liberal arts university, its reputation and output rival those of conservatories worldwide. Throughout its history the YSO has been committed to commissioning and performing new music. Notably, the YSO presented the European premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass in 1973, the world premiere of the definitive restoration of Charles
Photo by Harold Shapiro
Former Ives’ music Three Places directors in New include England, Richmond the U.S. Browne, premiere John of Mauceri, Debussy’s C. William Khamma, Harand wood,the Robert East Coast Kapilow, premiere Leif Bjaland, of Benjamin Alasdair Britten’s Neale,The David Building Stern,ofJames the House. Ross,InJames every Sinclair, season Shinik the Hahm, YSO works and George to program Rothman. and perform orchestral works written by new and emerging composers, as well as lesser-heard works by established and obscure composers. The YSO has performed with internationally recognized soloists, including YoYo Ma, Frederica von Stade, Emmanuel Ax, David Shifrin, Thomas Murray, and Idil Biret. Each year the YSO is proud to present student winners of the William Waite Concerto Competition the opportunity to perform major solo works alongside the orchestra. Outside New Haven’s Woolsey Hall, the YSO have performed at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In 2011, the YSO joined the Yale Glee Club at Carnegie Hall in celebration of their 150th anniversary, and was hailed by New York Times music critic Zachary Woolfe as “the excellent Yale Symphony Orchestra.” In the past decade, the YSO has toured domestically and internationally, including a 2010 tour of Turkey with acclaimed pianist Idil Biret. Ms. Biret rejoined the orchestra for a recording of Paul Hindemith’s piano concerti, which were released in 2013 on the Naxos label. Past tours have brought the orchestra to Portugal, Korea, Central Europe, Italy, and Brazil. The YSO just completed its first tour of Russia in May of 2017. Beyond its season concerts, the YSO is famous for its legendary Halloween Show, a student-directed and -produced silent movie, whose score the orchestra performs at midnight in full costume. Long a Yale tradition, the Halloween Show sells out Woolsey Hall days in advance, and the production remains a closely guarded secret until the night of performance; recent cameo appearances include James Franco, Woody Allen, Alanis Morisette, Rosa DeLauro, and Jimmy Kimmel.
The Yale Symphony Orchestra would like to thank the following for their support: $5,000 or more The William Bray Fund for Music Yale Symphony Orchestra Director’s Resource Fund Dr. David Lobdell Wendy Sharp ’82 and Dean Takahashi ’80, ’83 SOM
$1,000—4,999 Anonymous Nancy Gutman Dr. Elizabeth Petri Henske ’81 B.A. Mr. Robert C. Henske ’81 B.S. Mr. Kenneth Richard Kato ’11 B.A. Dr. Robert L. Perkel, M.D. ’72 Mr. Feng Wang Mr. Ling Zhu
$500—999 Richard Dumas James M. Ford, M.D. ’84 B.A., ’89 M.D. Mr. Steven M. Kaufman ’81 B.A. Dr. Judith L. Ostrow Ms. Sarah P. Payne ’98
$100—499 Anonymous
Yichun Chung Prof. Lori Fisler Damrosch ’73 B.A., ’76 J.D. Mr. Thomas C. Duffy Prof. Edwin M. Duval ’71 M.Phil., ’73 Ph.D. Mr. Charles D. Ellis ’59 B.A., ’97 M.A.H. Mr. Phillip H. Falk ’10 B.A. Ms. Mayumi Fukui ’77 B.A., ’83 M.B.A. Mr. Paul J. Gacek ’67 B.A., ’70 Mus Ms. Pamela J. Gray ’74 B.A. Mr. Richard W. Hadsell, Ph.D ’71 M.Phil., ’75 Ph.D. Michel Jackson Mr. John W. Karrel ’75 Mr. Kevin G. Lawrence Jonathan Lewis Mr. Philip Henry Lima ’83 Mr. Daniel Lombardo Mrs. Maryanne Lombardo Ms. Linda Koch Lorimer ’77 J.D. Mr. Patrick P. McCreless ’98 M.A.H. Mr. Benjamin I. Nathans ’84 B.A. Ms. Isabel Padien O’Meara ’99 B.A. Carolee Rainey Donald Redmond Mr. Charles Michael Sharzer ’12 B.S. Mr. Justin Daniel Stilwell ’09 B.S. Mr. William McHenry Strom ’05 B.A. Ms. Victoria Yu-Than Su ’96 B.A. Ms. Meghan K. Titzer ’06 Vendini Mr. George Vosburgh Dr. Wenbin Xu Lawrence Young
Tax-deductible contributions to the Yale Symphony Orchestra make up a significant part of our total operating budget. Your donations are vital to us, and are very much appreciated. Please consider making a donation to the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Yale Symphony Orchestra c/o Yale University Office of Development—Contributions Processing P.O. Box 2038 New Haven, CT 06521-2038 http://yso.yalecollege.yale.edu/support-us
For additional information, visit yalesymphony.com For videos of past events and concerts, visit youtube.com/yalesymphony Or visit facebook.com/yalesymphony twitter.com/yalesymphony instagram.com/yalesymphony